Tank clamp support holder



1952 w. HIGHWOOD TANKCLAMP SUPPORT HOLDER Filed Jan. 26, 1948 INVENTOR.

m 0 0 w H m H m A u v w ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 28, 1952 I 3;

UNITEDQQSTATES {PATENT OFFICE H'YTANK CLAMP surron'r OLDER" WilliamHighvvood, Cincinnati, Ohio T Application Ja y 26, 1948, Serial No. 4,241

, 1 I This invention relatesjto a holder for quickly clamping tubular bodies in fixed position so that they may be held firmly inposition'while"being worked upon and then quickly released. It especially relates to a holder for acetyleneor oxygen gas tanks which'have heads 'or fittings screw threaded into the ends of the tanks. a The heads or fittings are very'tightly screwed into the tanks, and much forcehas to be applied in attaching them to or removing them from'the tanks. These tanks are used'for welding; cutting and scarfing steel, and the life-of the heads or fittings is much shorter than that of the tanks. Consequently the fittings or heads need to be often replaced during the'life of a tank. Moreover, the tanks are of widely varying lengths and one aim of the inventioii' 'is to provide a' common holder whichis adapted -to.;receive all lengths of tanks and hold them at a convenient elevation for the workman'in attachingiori-removing the heads or fittings. The invention, generally described, comprises abase having a vertical post securedjthereto, a back rest sectionagainst which the tank seats for being clamped in position and a clamp: "Ijwo or more back rest sections in vertically spaced apart relation and preferable since the tanks are relatively long, but they could 'be effectively'h'eld against only one back rest section. One iback rest" section disposed near the 'top and" another disposed near the bottom of the post has been found advantageous. The back. rests are preferably arcuate, 'comforming generally to mercy;- lindrical contour of the tanks. However'fthe back rest sections may be of any conformation,

it being only necessary that...they provide. points of support for the tank.' "I 'hfinner surfaces of 1 Claim. (01. 29 -288) the backrest sections'are advantageously faced with friction material, such as rubberized fabric or the like.

A sectional ring or strap is fitted to the vertical post with one of the sections movable to be opened for inserting in and removing from the support the tanks. The ring or strap has a back section fitted to the post, and a front section detachably connected to the back section. The front section may be advantageously hinged to one end of the back section and be provided with a, latch for being releasably engaged with the opposite end of said back section. A screw clamp is mounted for radial adjustment on one of the sections, preferably the movable section, for impinging a friction member against the Wall of a tank that is placed in an upright position on thebase to be clamped tightly between it and the 2 back rest section or sections. With the bottom of the standard large size tank resting on the base, the'top end is at a convenient height or elevation for a workman to screw the heads or fittings in or out of the tank. The base of the unit is conveniently bolted to a foundation floor.

To more readily accommodate relatively short length tanks, an attachment may be readily attached to support, 'saidattachment having a base and a backrest section to cooperate with the screw clamp on the front piece section. The attachment may be as readily removed from the support.

For a better understanding of the. invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a tank holder embodying the-invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the tank holder with an accessory attachment for supporting shorter length tanks;

7 Fig. 3 is a perspectiveview of theaccessory attachment; I Y

Fig. 4 is a horizontal cross-section of the latchportion of the ring or strap; and

f Fig. 5 is a horizontal cross-section of the screw" clamp mechanism on thefront section of the ring or strap. i

Referring specifically to'the drawings in which likenumerals are used to. designate like'parts,

numeral 2 is 'a metalbase provided with sets of, 'screw holes 3 for bolting the base to a shop floor or other solid foundation. .A vertical post L such as a metal "channel'or I-beam, is fixed'to the base by any suitable means, such as welding.

' A back rest section. 5, preferablytwo of them, are 'vertically'spa'ced-apart on one side of the post. conform generally to the cylindrical contour of the tanks, and are advantageously lined on the inner or contacting faces with anti-friction ma- 7 terial 6, such as rubberized fabric or the like. The lining or facing may be secured in any conventional manner as by screws or bolts 1.

A back band or strap 8 also is attached in any suitable manner, as by welding, to the post, preferably about midway between the two back rest sections. The band or strap is semi-cylindrical and complementary to a front semicylindrical strap or band section 9, with the back and front band sections forming a ring to be disposed about the tank. One end of each of the two sections is jointed at H], preferably by a hinge, While the opposite ends of the two sec-- The sections are preferably arcuate to 3 tions are mated to provide an interlocking catch II. The catch is constructed with a lip 12 on the end of the front section which has an inclined surface I3. The adjacent end of the back section has a pawl l4 pivoted to it by means of lug [5, the pawl having a lip I6 with an inclined surface I! complementary to inclined surface 13.

A rod I8 has one end welded to the back section and is projected through a recess inthe pawl with a nut or knob I9 on its opposite end. A spring 29 is inserted on the rod between the nut or knob and the back of the pawl to spring press the pawl into engagement with the lipped end of the front section. A reenforcement 21' rnay be welded to the end of the back section to project behind the lipped end of the front section. The opposite inclined surfaces 22 and 23 of the pawl and lipped end of the front section automatically open the pawl to engage the parts of the latch when the front piece or gate is swung shut.

, A member 24, with a handle 25 on one end, is screw threadedly engaged with the front section of the ring or bandto impinge the opposite end against a shoe 26 which is movably mounted on the front section. The shoe has fixed guide rods 7 21 projecting through the front section and terminating in enlarged heads 28. A spring 29 is fitted about each of the projections between the heads '28 and the front section to normally retract the shoe when the screw is retracted. The face of the shoe towards the tank is advantageously lined with anti-friction material 30.

An accessory unit, designated generally by numeral 3|, is provided for seating tanks of 1 smaller lengths, and is constructed for ready assembly and disassembly with the main support.

It comprises a horizontal base 32 of any conformation provided to extend from a vertical post 33 to which it may be fixed as by welding. ,A back section 34, similar to the back sections on the main vertical 'post, is attached to the vertical post 33 and likewise is provided with a frictional lining 35. The vertical post 33 is fixed to the base 32 and substantially spaced from its rear end so that the rear end will abut against the main vertical post 4, when the accessory unit is hooked on the main support by a hook member or members 36. There are preferably at least two of these hook members, so that the accessory mem-- her will not tilt, and they can be welded at one end to the back section of the accessory unit and have overhanging hooks 31. The hooks are obtained by an undercut recess 38 conforming generally to the top edge of the back strap or band. a

The accessory member can be assembled on the main support simply by fitting it in place with 4 the hooks engaging the top edge of the back section. The weight of the accessory member will hold same in hooked position with the rear end of the base of the accessory member abutting against the main post. The weight of the accessory unit, which is of metal, will hold same in place while being used. When no longer needed for use, the accessory unit can be lifted off and placed aside until neededagain.

I While I have illustratedland described in detail a preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that there may be various changes in details of construction without departing from the spirit of the invention.

' Having described the invention, I claim:

a A supporting device for holding a tank com-v prising a base provided with means for fixing the deviceto a foundation, a vertical post fixed to the base, a plurality of spaced apart back rest sections for the tank, a band or strap attached to the post between two of the spaced apart back rest [sections and position to encircle the tank, a gate forming a section of the band or strap hinged at one end to another section of the band or strap which fixed to the post and havingv af catch on the opposite .end for engaging with the fixed section of the band or stra an accessory base unit. provided With a back rest and bottom tank support for being readily detachable from the tank circling band or strap, and means on the bend Or strap for impin ng the tank aga he backrest of the accessory unit.

HIGHWQOD.

REFERENCES CITED file of this pat ntz I UNITED STATES PATENTS Numbe Name Dat 7 784,868 Leu 1 Mar. 14. 1,905 1,086,541 Lauer .1 Feb. .10. 1914 1,465, 4 P Aug. 28. v19123 1,596,293 Neil g- 1 1926 1,740,364 Del Maso Dec. 17, 1929 1. 74.5 0 She han Sept. 211 1,799,944 B sley Apr. '7, 1931 ,L82 ;6 0 .Sturs ta -PW O 1931 2,108.07? Robinson Feb. 15, 193.8 2,37%.871 Loveman May 1 1945 2,367,256 Atkins Jan. 16, 19-45] 2,.458422 Walker Jan. 4, 1949 2,477,294 Ful July 2 1. 4.9 means .Grimsley Apr. 5, 1949 'FQREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date Germany Jan. .5, 1910 

